‘Gotham’ Watch: The Riddler Rises, As Does The Joker

Before Batman, there was Gotham City — and a whole bunch of bad guys, too, by the look of it.

Already, Fox’s “Gotham” has carved out roles for key figures in the future Batman’s rogues gallery, like Catwoman (Camren Bicondova) and the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor). In the first trailer for the upcoming TV series, we saw a brief glimpse of another of the Caped Crusader’s classic villains: Edward Nigma, alias the Riddler, played by actor Cory Michael Smith.

It looks like the puzzling criminal is here to stay, too: Smith has been promoted to full-on series regular status for “Gotham,” indicating that Riddler has a strong part to play in the coming episodes. In addition to Smith’s upgrade, Deadline reports that two others have become series regulars: Victoria Cartagena and Andrew Stewart Jones, who play Gotham cops Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen, respectively.

Beyond the increased role for Riddler, it appears “Gotham” has designs on Batman’s single greatest nightmare: The Joker. Take a look at the following “Gotham” cast photo…

…and now take a closer look at that object in the distance, just above Harvey Bullock’s head, as pointed out by Bleeding Cool:

The Clown Prince of Crime’s calling card! If that’s not a clear enough signal that Joker is headed to “Gotham,” then take this nugget from show runner Bruno Heller’s interview with Entertainment Weekly: “He’s the crown jewel of the Batman villains. He will be brought in with great care and a lot of thought.”

There are no “ifs” or “whens” or other excuses in that sentence; it’s a matter of timing and methodology, but Joker is coming to “Gotham,” assuming the show lasts long enough to bring him into the mix.